Every great move of God in the Bible and in history begins with Extraordinary Prayer and Fasting. From the other side of eternity we will find that the most influential people were not, perhaps, Presidents or Prime Ministers, but the people who walked with God through passionate prayer.
When the early church faced opposition or struggle, they first turned to prayer.
“When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God courageously.” Acts 4:31
- What if God is compelling and leading us at OCC into a simple expression of extraordinary prayer this Easter season?
- What if we, together, in unity as God’s people, ask God to pour out even more?
- What if there were dozens of places of prayer this Easter season?
Places filled with the presence of the empowering Spirit of God leading us in worship and missional prayer.
Between Wednesday, April 6th and Sunday, April 17th [Easter Sunday] we are asking you to pray.
To set aside a few minutes each day to pray for OCC and our ministry as God’s people in our city and region and world.
What does this look like?
- Pray for neighbours
- Pray for fellow students and co-workers
- Pray for our governments (municipal, provincial and federal)
- But most of all pray the prayer that those early disciples prayed in Acts 4:29-30
“enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.
Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
How to Pray
Let me encourage you as we pray to unite together around some directed prayers on behalf of our city and area.
There are 3 main moves in prayer that we make together.
What follows is some starting points, some words to pray if you have trouble starting… feel free to use them simply as that… starting points
Opening Prayer:
Lord, we love you.
We are here to be with you.
So we come with a posture of surrender.
Do whatever you desire in this time.
We come with humility and openness.
We bring and offer you open ears, hearts, and minds.
Father, Son, Holy Spirit we welcome you and your presence fully in this time.
Lord, we also ask you to forgive for our sins. Our apathies, our deliberate sins, our ignorance, our divisions and the failures of our flesh. For lies we’ve believed and told. For anything that is not from you and your kingdom.
We receive your forgiveness by the blood of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
And in Jesus’ name, and in His power and authority, we silence the voices of the evil one, the flesh, and the world.
We silence all those voices of distraction.
And we open ourselves to your voice, Good Shepherd. We open to your voice, Heavenly
Father. We open to your voice, Holy Spirit.
Would you come near to us? We open to you now…
The First Move of Prayer: Abide with Jesus + Seek His Face:
“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek.” ~PSALM 27:8
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” ~JOHN 15:5
Time of Silence:
Relax and be silent. It’s a time to simply slow down and be with the Lord.
As you listen, you might want to journal or notes any thoughts, words, impressions, and pictures God may give you.
Out of that silence, pray…
- Bless Jesus.
- Bring Him praises.
- Lift up adoration and thankfulness.
- Praise God for His goodness and presence.
The Second Move of Prayer: Unity and Encouragement
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” ~JOHN 17
Ask Jesus to help you align with His prayer in John 17.
- Pray for the unity of God’s people across our city.
- Pray for humility and collaboration among God’s people. We are ONE spiritual family. We are His body. Jesus is the head.
The Third Move of Prayer: Intercession for the City
- Pray for a renewal and awakening over our city.
- Pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Ask for a fresh filling of the Spirit even now.
- Ask God to break your heart, and the hearts of His body across our city for those who don’t yet know Him (Luke 15; Luke 19:10).
- Ask the Lord to send and raise up more workers to go into the harvest field of Orillia and into your neighborhood or network of relationships (Luke 10:2).
- Ask the Lord for His beauty, justice, and good news to be made known and revealed across the city.
- Ask God to pour out His Spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17).
- Pray by name for 3-5 people in your network of relationships that you long to see surrender to Jesus and begin following him. Ask the Father to draw these friends to himself ( John 6:44).
Closing Prayer:
Lord, you are so faithful.
We trust that you hear these prayers.
You have been present, you are present, and you will continue to lead and guide us.
We praise you and thank you for who you are and for all you’ve done in this time.
Amen.